In the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain, Complexity Is a Constant
Article from MHI Solutions Magazine
The pharmaceutical supply chain saw itself thrust into the spotlight during the pandemic. As a result, there is now a growing appreciation for its importance.
“It’s something that people are getting a better grasp of,” said Perry Fri, executive vice president, industry relations and member services, Healthcare Distribution Alliance and COO, HDA Research Foundation. “People know the big brand names of drug manufacturers because those names are on the label of their bottle, and they know their local hospital and their local pharmacy, but I don’t think people really think about the supply chain that gets the medicine there. People are very concerned about whether their medicines are there and how much they’re paying, but they haven’t really thought about how it gets there. The COVID response really brought a lot of that to light. … As we come out of it now, particularly with conversations around some of these new drug therapies and drug shortages, people are paying much closer attention to this supply chain.”
The pharmaceutical supply chain is marked by its complexity and the extreme care that its products require throughout storage and distribution. It’s also a field that is unique in its make-up. In particular, Fri noted that the pharmaceutical industry is “a weirdly big and weirdly small industry.” The Healthcare Distribution Alliance has 39 distributor members today, including three very large ones, and those distributors are linked with 1,500 manufacturers and more than 330,000 pharmacies, providers, clinics and hospitals. “It’s a relatively small number of wholesale distributors in the middle of all that,” Fri said…
